In which we talk Jane Austen AGAIN

Really, can you ever have enough Jane Austen? I didn't think so. There were a few comments on the blog entry about the "Masterpiece Theatre" Jane-o-Rama that got me thinking. First, TeresaB remarked that she might read the books while watching the adaptations. I LOVE this idea. Most of the films are being shown on consecutive Sundays, so that leaves plenty of time to read each novel, even when real life intrudes. (Although I have to note, if you have never read Jane Austen, starting with "Persuasion" is just WRONG.) As a matter of fact, watching the films should enhance the reading experience rather than the other way around. I don't know about you, but when I was in school, we were ONLY allowed to watch film adaptations when we had finished reading a novel so the teacher could grade exams in peace. But Harvard University released a study a few years back that indicated students gain a much greater understanding of a book if they've seen the film FIRST.

In another comment, Kaitlin confessed to never have read Jane Austen at all. (We like her anyway. In fact, I freely admit that I received a bachelor's degree in English without EVER having read Jane Austen. That is much more horrifying, I think. But I made up for it when I was pregnant. I lolled around on the couch reading all the Austen novels back to back in between "Baywatch" reruns.) If you're just dipping a toe into the Jane Austen pool, I strongly urge you to start with "P&P". When you're talking about fiction you're supposed to say things like "it's accessible to the modern reader", but the truth is, it's the easiest of the novels to get into. Unlike "Emma" or "Mansfield Park" or "Northanger Abbey", the heroine is ENTIRELY likeable. In fact, you just KNOW that you and Elizabeth Bennet would be BFFs. After that, I would suggest "S&S" or "Emma". "Mansfield Park" and "Northanger Abbey" are a toss-up. If any of Jane Austen's work could make me stick a fork in my eye, it would be one of those. But even at her most maddening, Jane Austen is THOROUGHLY worth reading. "Persuasion" must be saved for last. It will break your heart in tiny little red bits of confetti and then stitch it back together. It is a perfect novel in a very grown-up way, just as "P&P" is a perfect novel is a sparkling, youthful way. "'All the privilege I claim for my own sex...is that of loving longest, when existence or when hope is gone!" is a line that sends chills down my arms EVERY time.

And if by the end of reading "Persuasion" you are as devoted to Jane Austen as I am, you will thoroughly enjoy burrowing into her juvenilia, her letters, and the many DIVINE literary biographies that have been written in recent years. So brew a nice pot of tea and settle in to make friends with the Bennets and Woodhouses and Elliots. It will be a very nice party.

Comments

[Kaitlin]

Oh dear. Now I have been inspired to start reading "Pride & Prejudice". I must resist. (Gotta read "Silent In The Grave" first--but you know that already. I only point it out in every single comment I leave.)

I have it on my shelf, in fact. My grandparents lent it to me, a long long time ago. So long ago that I doubt they remember I have it. (Like that other book of theirs I lost in a carvan park once. Oops!) It's covered with flowery pink contact and has that old book smell about it. Perhaps that's why previous attempts to read it have been generally unsuccessful.

I've decided, in the course of writing this post, that I'm going to break my rule. I'm going to give in to the temptation. I'm going to read it, and if (god forbid!) your book arrives while I'm doing it, I'll put it aside for a brief interlude. (On the plus side, I'm travelling tomorrow and should have a number of hours in which to read. Mum wants to visit the nursery, too--I can see myself reading in a damp shady corner while she wanders around idly for hours.)

Yes, that's what I'll do. I'll break my rule for you, and for Jane Austen, and I'm off to begin Pride & Prejudice right now. (Nevermind sleep--it's overrated.)

You are to be blamed for this lack of self-discipline, you know. Describing a novel as being able to 'break your heart in tiny little red bits of confetti and then stitch it back together' is just too tempting. And then to add that I must first read several other novels...well, that's just cruel. :-)

...but I suppose I forgive you.

[Rene]

I, too, love Jane Austen. Occasionally, when I am feeling particularly ambitious, I try to explain the awesomeness that is Jane to my husband--an exercise in futility at best. He also loses points for liking the Keira Knightley version of P & P way too much. Well, they do say that the course of true love does not run smoothly...

Anyhoo, I'd like to stick in a plug for Northanger Abbey, a novel I think is underrated. Altlhough I have always thought of it as almost a part of her juvenilia, I have also always thought it was quite funny. I love the way in which she makes fun of the conventions of gothic novels, which I guess were the "chick lit" of her day. I mean the herione is INTENTIONALLY insipid, the hero is largely disinterested and possibily bored, and of course there is the "bosom friend," who forms an unreasonably close and sisterly (and therefore absurd) relationship with the heroine, the disparaging references to many of the most popular novels of her day.... I could go on. In sum, many of the other Austen novels are much better, I find NA to be one of the most fun.

[TeresaB]

Kaitlin, you won't be sorry you decided to read P&P, you'll enjoy it I'm sure. I'd never thought about Persuasion as tearing your heart into small little bits, but you're right it does. Having read all her books in the past I decided to read them in the order their being shown. It should be interesting.

What did you think of the adaptation?

[Kelly J.]

First, I must say I love your blog. You seem very down-to-earth and I love that.

I had no idea there was going to be a Jane-o-Rama on PBS and I want to thank you for letting me in on it. When I was a girl my grandmother introduced me to the genius that is Austen and I have been a fan ever since. Every few years I dig out my copies of her books and read them, looking for nuances I missed in previous readings. More often than not I find something new in the books. I adore that!

So many of my friends discover Austen through the movies, and I think that is just fine. Anything that prompts people to open a book and read something good for the brain is fine by me.

Oh, and I finished "Silent in the Sanctuary" about three hours before “Persuasion” began, and it was so good. I think it may even be better "Silent in the Grave". Very well done!

[Lara]

I'm reading Pride and Prejudice right now. :]

[Stephanie Janulis]

Deanna, I'm glad you posted the Harvard study and bit about reading along with the movies because I've found this to be the case for so many books. I mention my love of P&P below but a huge part of reading the book was the fact that I saw the movie on A&E in the 4th grade and had to find the book. The same goes for countless other books.

Kaitlin...let me just say that I 100% think you'll love P&P. Did I mention I read it 14 times between the 4th and 8th grades? I might be one of those obsessive people... I can't remember Northanger Abbey since I read it forever ago, but I remember loving it! Same goes for the others.

"He also loses points for liking the Keira Knightley version of P & P way too much. " <--Rene, I have the same issue with my DBF!

Hmm...a nice pot of tea, a scone, and a book...I think I'll go pull out some JA and relax for the rest of the night! :)

[Ranger]

Cassandra has quite a bit to answer for. Imagine finding all of the Austen correspondence she supposedly destroyed. Perhaps buried in the back garden at Steventon . . .